In Pictures: The Asian space industry lifts off

India, China and Japan are in a space race - take a look at their progress

Asian countries of India, China and Japan are trying to step over each other in an attempt to build scientific and technological advancements in space. Most recently India blasted its first rocket to Mars and China remains very active in developing a space station and other equipment. Here’s a look at some the space race going on among those countries.

Illustrated factbox on India's spacecraft bound for Mars.

India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-20 blasts off, carrying Indo-French satellite SARAL from the Satish Dhawan space center at Sriharikota, north of the southern Indian city of Chennai. The Indian rocket carried seven satellites - the Indo-French satellite SARAL, world's first smartphone-operated nano satellite, a space telescope satellite and four other foreign satellites.

Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-10 manned spacecraft mission (from L to R) Wang Yaping, Nie Haisheng and Zhang Xiaoguang wave in front of a Chinese national flag as they meet the media at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, Gansu province June 10, 2013.

Astronauts (L-R) Zhang Xiaoguang, Nie Haisheng and Wang Yaping salute after returning to Earth in the re-entry capsule of China's Shenzhou-10 spacecraft at its main landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 26, 2013. The three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth, touching down in north China's Inner Mongolia after a successful 15-day mission in which they docked with a manned space laboratory.

A soldier runs away from the launching pad holding the Long March 2-F rocket loaded with Shenzhou-10 manned spacecraft at Jiuquan satellite launch center in Jiuquan, Gansu province.

Chinese astronauts (from L to R) Zhang Xiaoguang, Nie Haisheng and Wang Yaping salute in a re-entry capsule during a training at Beijing Aerospace City. Chinese astronauts went on a 15-day mission to an experimental space lab, the National Space Administration said, in th

A H-2B rocket carrying cargo for the International Space Station blasts off from the launching pad at Tanegashima Space Center on the Japanese southwestern island of Tanegashima, about 1,000km (621 miles) southwest of Tokyo, Aug. 4, 2013. The rocket, also known as "Kounotori," which means stork, is carring a small robot that will help Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata conduct experiments in space.

H-2B rocket carrying cargo for the International Space Station blasts off from the launching pad at Tanegashima Space Center on the Japanese southwestern island of Tanegashima, about 1,000km (621 miles) southwest of Tokyo, in this photo taken by Kyodo.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo Pressurized Module is moved into place by the robotic arm system to the Harmony module in this view from NASA TV June 3, 2008. The Kibo, which means "hope" in Japanese, is longer at 37 feet than any module on the International Space Station.

India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-11 blasts off carrying India's first unmanned moon mission Chandrayaan-1 from the Satish Dhawan space center at Sriharikota, about 100 km (62 miles) north of the southern Indian city of Chennai in 2008.

Mission specialist Mike Fossum prepares the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory (L) for installation on the International Space Station during a spacewalk in this image from NASA.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo Pressurized Module and robotic arm system can be seen in the open payload bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery in this view from the International Space Station in this image from NASA TV June 2, 2008.

The successful re-entry of the Japanese space probe Hayabusa causing a bright streak in the night sky, is seen from Glendambo in the Australian outback in 2010. Hayabusa landed in the Australian outback after a seven-year voyage to an asteroid, lighting up the night sky and bringing what scientists hope is a rock sample, witnesses said.

An Epsilon rocket is seen on its launch pad after it passed its scheduled launch time at the Uchinoura Space Center in Kimotsuki town, Kagoshima prefecture. Japan's first new rocket in 12 years failed to lift off in August, dealing an apparent blow to hopes that Japan might be able to muscle in on the growing, multi-billion dollar satellite launch industry.

A soldier stands guard in front of the Unha-3 (Milky Way 3) rocket sitting on a launch pad at the West Sea Satellite Launch Site, during a guided media tour by North Korean authorities in the northwest of Pyongyang in 2012.

Workers of Korea Aerospace Research Institute prepare to set up Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1), or Naro-1, South Korea's first space rocket, on its launch pad at Naro Space Centre in Goheung, about 485 km (301 miles) south of Seoul, in 2010. Neither the maiden flight on Aug. 25, 2009 nor the second flight on June 10, 2010 reached orbit. The third flight on in January 2013 successfully reached orbit, according to Wikipedia.

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